What Does The Conversation Between Nina And

Trigorin In Act Two Show Us About The Character Of Trigo Essay, Research Paper

??????????? Trigorin is

a difficult character to understand in Chekhov?s play ?the Seagull?, however,

there is much to be learnt about him during his conversation with Nina.? His comments give the reader a real sense of

the two differing sides to his character that emerge in this scene.? It is in this scene above any other in the

play that the reader truly begins to appreciate the character of Trigorin. ??????????? Trigorin feels

driven to write.? In the early part of

his conversation with Nina, he refers to the fact that he feels compelled to

write: ??????????? ?Well, I

have my own moon. Day and night I?m obsessed with one compelling thought: I

must write, I must?? ??????????? It is in

this frank admission to Nina that we see the vulnerable writer, who has seemed

up until this point to be quiet but self-assured.? In this outburst, we see his dissatisfaction with his life and

profession. ??????????? Furthermore, Trigorin constantly

feels inferior to great Russian writers such as Tolstoy and feels that he will

be described as ?charming and clever? but not as good as Tolstoy or

Turginev.? It is his failure to live up

to these literary geniuses that frustrates him.? At the same time, his writing is driven by an overwhelming desire

to produce a work of genius that will surpass those of Turginev and Tolstoy,

and establish him as a great writer.?

Unlike Nina, Trigorin no longer seeks fame; he seeks to be the best. As

a younger writer, when he believes he was at his best, he confesses to his fear

of audiences and literary circles, in his desire for fame.? It appears that Trigorin is longing for some

of the inspiration that he had during his youth, combined with the experience he

has now gained. ??????????? He has a

constant desire to produce a piece that will convince critics such as Kostya

that he is a great writer. As Kostya says in Act one: ?As for his writing ? it?s

charming, clever but after Tolstoy or Zola you won?t feel like reading

Trigorin.? For this reason, Trigorin is

constantly disappointed with the work he produces as he feels he can produce

something better.? Furthermore, each

time he produces something he likes and has it printed, once it is printed he

realises his mistakes and his hopes are dashed once more.? Trigorin?s existence has become an eternal

struggle to produce a piece of work, a ?tour de force? that will put the

name of Trigorin among the Great Russian writers.? Writing has become such an obsession that he can no longer relax

or enjoy his life, as he is constantly wanting to write the ?perfect novel? and

thus his life revolves around his work.?

Even his relationships with other people, such as that with Arkadina are

superficial, and one suspects that just as he later uses Nina, Arkadina is

being used as a tool for his next novel. ??????????? Trigorin

does not consider his ?famous? existence to be as wonderful as Nina portrays it

as being in there conversation.? His

fame in short has reduced him into a state bordering on the insane.? The obsession with success and striving for

recognition that has brought him fame has not brought him happiness.? In this description of striving for fame,

Chekhov attempts both to educate the reader to the fact that fame does not

bring happiness and also indicates the path that Nina?s future will take in her

constant belief that it is fame that will make her happy. ??????????? As well as

seeing a side of Trigorin that is driven by success, we also get an indication

as to the crueller side to his nature.?

Throughout his speeches, Trigorin indicates that uses observations in

his writing, and through his final speech in the passage, it is clear to the

reader that Trigorin referring to Nina?s future.? Trigorin intends to use Nina as an object to learn from to improve

his writing techniques, he sees her not as a person but as a mechanism for

improving his writing style. In this way he illustrates the mad obsession to

which he has previously referred.? His

intentions toward Nina are indicated far earlier in the scene when he says: ??????????? ?I

wouldn?t mind changing places with you for an hour even, to see what goes on in

your head, just generally what makes you tick.? ??????????? The final

speech makes it explicitly clear that Nina has simply inspired him with an idea

for a plot, and through exploiting her innocence; Trigorin intends to use her

for his own purposes. He shows his devious plans when he says: ??????????? ?Just

making a note?a plot for a short story.?

It?s about a girl not unlike you, who has lived all her life beside a

lake.? She loves the lake, the way a

seagull does, and she?s as happy and free as a seagull.? Then a man comes along, catches sight of

her, and in an idle moment, destroys her ? just like that seagull of yours.? ??????????? This short

speech shows us much about Trigorin.? It

is his obsession with writing that causes him to manipulate his relationship

with Nina in order that a good plot can be gleaned from it.? I do not believe that Trigorin is meant to

be seen as an inherently evil character, but simply as misguided.? His life has become so dependent upon his

writing that anything else that might have brought him happiness pales into

insignificance.? Furthermore, the fact

that his actions towards Nina were all planned out in such a cruel manner shows

that his writing is paramount in his life.?

He cares nothing for Nina, the hurt he will cause or the hopes he will

dash and is concerned only with making his story as realistic as possible.? The reference to Nina as a seagull is also

important in demonstrating Trigorin?s cruel intentions, the comparison between

the beautiful carefree seagull and Nina is apparent.? The destruction of the seagull earlier by Kostya is intended to

demonstrate the frailty of the seagull, and how, as Trigorin points out, it is

a relatively easy task to obliterate the happy and carefree existence. In this

objective Trigorin is less driven by his desire to write and more by his

jealousy.? Trigorin talks throughout

this passage of his desire to enjoy life without being driven entirely by

writing, and his jealousy of Nina?s ability to live life to the full frustrates

him and leads him to want to destroy it. ??????????? This scene

shows us much about the character of Trigorin, and one can conclude that

Trigorin is a character obsessed by his work.?

His desire not only to be famous but also to be the greatest drives him to

strive to produce the work that will bring him widespread acclaim and

happiness.? As we discover, being famous

has not made him happy, and instead has turned him into a character entirely

driven by his desire to write.? He has

begun to think of his relationships with others simply as writing tools, his

desire to write has made him a cruel and perverse character that can no longer

think in a rational manner or with any sort of morality.? It also appears that he is jealous of Nina?s

youth and vigour and it is this that he sets out to destroy.? We learn more than anything else in this

scene, that Trigorin cares little for people and much about his next novel, and

this explains many of his actions later in the play.